season pass with $200 included for food etc

If they are adding it to the cost I think that is a horrible idea. I'm not a season pass holder anywhere fwiw, but I know a lot of the season pass holders here pack a lunch and rarely if ever buy food on the mountain. That seems like a way for them to extort money from a source they aren't currently getting any from. Now if they are incentivizing the season pass price by including that without raising the rate then I think thats ok. Use it as a way to drive sales. IE a person uses the credit, ends up really liking some food or drinks they offer and ends up spending additional money on it over the course of the season. 

I don't understand the value proposition.  It would have to be a larger spending amount, otherwise what's the point for the consumer?

I wish they'd include my locker for that amount as a combo deal, but the last two years I haven't spent ONE DIME for food.  The prices started really getting to me and I was already buying only the "cheap stuff".  If you ski 60-80 days a year, this stuff adds up.  Now I bring my lunch and a tea bag and foldable cup.  

Quote:

Originally Posted by veteran 

What do you think about an  season pass that adds $200 to the purchase cost (total $1200) but you can spend the $200 in the ski lift company's bars, cafes, ski gear stores and restaurants (and not in small businesses on the hill). Just wondering.

That sounds great ... for the resort. Why would I want to lock up my money in the resort, when I could just pay cash? Or not buy things at the resort at all? The advantage of buying a season pass is that it's cheaper in the long run and gives you unlimited time on the mountain. So you spend the money up front, but can save in the long run. No one would buy a season pass if it was the same exact price as the equivalent in day tickets - why put up all that money in one shot? Same thing with your idea - $200 worth of resort-only debit just spends my money up front without any benefit. Best case scenario is that I spend all $200, which is exactly equivalent to spending $200 of cash. No benefit. Worst case scenario is that I leave money unspent and flush it down the toilet. Why would anyone want that?

If anything, you should put more money worth of debit on the pass (say $500 charged for $250), which offers benefit to the consumer. It'd have to be significant, too, because I'm not laying out $200 to get an extra $25 - I'd say double or a significant number like $100 is about right. That's a similar model to the season pass, whereby the resort trades a little bit of potential revenue (you'd quite possibly pay more for x number of day tickets) for a sure, upfront sale.

Or maybe they get $200 and a 15% discount on things.  Personally I'm not wowed by anything less than that.  

We get a discount with our pass on food from the resort's restaurants, the rental shop, and the retail store.  I think it's 10%.  But the only thing I've used it for is the discount on demo'ing.  

Just curious veteran, is this just a purely hypothetical or have you actually heard something?

Well, Kirkwood is on the Epic pass now, so passholders already get some discounts on food, etc. - at least at all of the other resorts, so I assume the same will be true there this season.  20% off weed perhaps?  ;-)

I bought a 7 day/week Spring Pass at Lake Louise this past season, good March 1 to May 6 for $400 and it included $25 credit toward food and retail purchases. A terrific deal imo that I will likely take advantage of again this coming winter.

Paying up front for anything should include a discount of some sort just for the time value of money and the chance you will not use the prepaid services.  It is common for season pass holders at many resorts to receive discounts for food and other purchases.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JayT 

Well, Kirkwood is on the Epic pass now, so passholders already get some discounts on food, etc. - at least at all of the other resorts, so I assume the same will be true there this season.  20% off weed perhaps?  ;-)

When you say "other" resorts do you mean other Epic Pass resorts or resorts in general?  If Epic then I have missed out... Perhaps if I talk to them they'd be willing to give me the money back retroactivley.

Whistler did this...BUT, the way it worked was, it was an option, and for the extra $200, you got like a $300 credit for food etc at the restraunts bars etc.  I forget the exact "bonus" amount but it was like 50%.  Lots of people did it, it was a good deal. 

The resort does it to lock in a certain amount of cash flow early, so works for them too.

God, no.  It's an increase.  We're not stupid.  If I see $200 worth of real value for something I had to get anyway (i.e., not food, not lodging, not equipment) then maybe.  But for that to work, it would have to be something that all the passholders agreed they'd pay more for anyway.  I can't think what that would be.  Pay $200 towards my property tax bill, maybe.  

Quote:

Originally Posted by CaliSki 

When you say "other" resorts do you mean other Epic Pass resorts or resorts in general?  If Epic then I have missed out... Perhaps if I talk to them they'd be willing to give me the money back retroactivley.

Yep, Northstar, Heavenly, Vail, Breck, etc. all have some variation of a discount.  It was better the year before last, however, as they tightened up on those so it was only certain hours.

I'm guessing when looking at other ski hills they will see what effect it has/had. Since it seems like it went over like a fart in church I'm guessing no one here would be stupid enough to try it, but far be it from using common sense as a guide over whether or not something will happen regardless of if it should happen. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by veteran 

 

Would the typical skier embrace a $200 price rise if the full price included a preloaded $200 to spend at the lift company's hotel, ski hire, sk school, race training camp etc?

If you are asking if pricing is elastic, the answer is: That depends on the local competition and the individual resort.  I am under the impression that most Lake Tahoe resorts can't currently price the way the Park City resorts can, so your "prepaid" example wouldn't fly.  I believe pricing in the Lake Tahoe area is now (after the VR acquisitions) inelastic.  In the Park City area Deer Valley could get their pass holders to buy your "preloaded" pass , but why would they bother?  Deer Valley has the smallest amount of terrain in PC but that doesn't prevent them from having by far the highest season pass prices.  The people who ski there gladly pay up for superior service and the lack of snowboarders.  Many of them don't mind pulling out their Platinum cards for lunch or lessons, so having people prepay for these options is not necessary.   The other two resorts have created a plethora of menu pricing to meet the needs of locals (and seasonal residents) and to stay within their budgets.  Both PCMR and Canyons have parking options, the Canyons offers 50% off ski lessons, etc.  I think resorts should continue to offer menu pricing, and not bother with a "preloaded" country club styled model.

I thought we already went over this: No. That stinks. A $200 price spike from one season to the next is pretty drastic. Making me eat food that I don't want to eat, sleep in a hotel I don't need and shop in [likely overpriced] base shops to make up for it doesn't soften the blow much at all. In fact, it feels kind of sleazy, like you're trying to prop up failing businesses by extorting loyal customers. A lot of season pass holders don't need any of that stuff.

If it were a more normal price increase - say $50, it might fly because you could sell it as 'We were increasing pass prices anyway, but to mitigate the effect on our loyal pass holders we're giving it back in credit.'

Probably nothing new that hasn't been said but...

Not a good value proposition to start with, and even worse for those who prefer not to spend money on the hill.

Having the ability to "load" your season pass, and use it as method of payment - instead of carrying cash or card, is a benefit that's nice to have. BUT, if you're going to put up money up front, in $50 or $100 increments for instance (which benefits the ski area from a strategic cash flow standpoint), there must be sufficient incentive to do it - such as a meaningful, exclusive discount (i.e. greater than what you would be entitled to if you didn't use your season pass as method of payment). And it would need to be optional.

Then the ski area would need to figure out how to operational-ize this model, which is easier said than done.  Sounds like Whistler already has something similar to this.

We've got the ability here to put "resort charging" on our pass, which is nice if you accidentally leave your wallet at home.  Naturally, I've not used the feature the last two years, so I have all the panic of a lost credit card if I drop my pass with none of the benefit of actually using the feature.  

I avoid paying lodge prices "at all costs" where possible.  Voluntarily committing an EXTRA $200.00 towards purchases likely to be 40% more expensive there than elsewhere does not compute at all for me. 

I do spend some cash at the lodge, but mostly when traveling to unfamiliar resorts.  I'll also take a look at the clearance stuff after last trax of the season,.

I think if you gave a choice ... ie, pay $1100 for a pass with no benefits, OR  $1200 for a pass with $150 or $200 credit on it ... maybe that would work. Haven't thought too much about it. But the incentive is to get $200 of stuff for $100, and you'd probably make money from the people who didn't end up spending the entire amount. 

In this hypothetical case of $200 more on a season's pass for $200 value, big thumbs down.  

Here's an example that might be relevant, those prepaid Visa gift cards, or the rebate/redemption on my Yakima cargo box that came on a prepaid Visa card.  I've rarely used the full value of those cards; there's usually a few odd dollars and cents left over; alternatively if I've used the full value, I've usually spent a few dollars more on whatever purchase I ended up making.

In the first instance, the credit/debit card issuer retains some value from what I didn't spent, so they're saving some money; in the second case the retail merchant makes a little more than the amount of the card.  The only thing a buyer/consumer/me gains is the possible convenience of not needing to carrry cash or not put as much on my debit or credit card.

Some areas (Stevens Pass, for example) do offer a gift card that you can reload as needed, useful to give a family member so they can buy their own food and odds and ends without you needing to be there, and you can budget as you see fit.    Discounts for retail items in the ski shops, or with other retailers in town is already part of the season's pass.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Philpug 

Mad River Glen's shareholders get $200 in "Mad Money" which is monopoly type money that us used for food and drinks. Would I spend $200 for unlimited food at a ski area? yep. 

"Hey Phil - not bad out there today, huh?"

"Oh, I didn't bring my skis - I'm working, I'm just here for lunch."

For some reason I don't see this happening anytime soon.  ;-)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Philpug 

Mad River Glen's shareholders get $200 in "Mad Money" which is monopoly type money that us used for food and drinks. Would I spend $200 for unlimited food at a ski area? yep. 

Phil the shareholders don't get $200 they have to pay $200 each year as part of their shareholder agreement. That $200 can be used to purchase anything ( not unlimited think $200 debit card) on the mountain, towards a pass, food, gear etc. But every year they have to pay the $200

Just saw that China Peak gives an additional $25 for each $100 that is loaded on the season pass.